Adventures in Heaven
by dukefan01
Summary: After Mary died and joined John in Heaven the two find they can't fully be at rest. After all they have old friends to see and two boys to keep tabs on. This is just a collection of stories with John and Mary reuniting with old friends who have long since died and learning about what Sam and Dean have lived through because the boys sure as hell didn't tell them everything.
1. John and Mary

John shifted on the couch, looking through his magazine. Honestly there wasn't much else to do in Heaven, not since he separated himself from the memory playback. Heaven wasn't really all that amazing once you got past that, just contentment. He was glad about one thing, the one real memory he had before he came to heaven. The sight of the demon who put his family through so much pain lying dead on the ground, his son Dean standing in front of him where he could actually reach out and touch him, and his other son Sam standing nearby, safe. It was over, the family life mission complete. Surly the boys had been able to move on now, Sam to go back to school, Dean to settle down and build a home. It had put his soul at peace and allowed him to enter heaven with no difficulty.

He had hoped he would find Mary, but sadly it seemed Heaven had other plans. He had been in loops of memories, memories of his time with his mom, memories of his time with Mary, with the boys. After he broke out of those memories his Heaven just stabilized into his and Mary's home, the home they had planned to raise they're boys in. Without much else to do John found himself going over car magazines with a few beers and music.

The front door opened and John looked over, confused. No one had once entered that door since the memory reel stopped playing, but to his surprise, Mary had stumbled in looking around in confusion. John frowned. Mary looked older than she should have been, older than when she died. She wore clothes he couldn't recall seeing on her before, clothes like she was ready to out on a hunt, which was impossible! More importantly, he had no memories that this could be recreating. Then she looked at him and stopped, her face draining of all the color it held.

Mary had no idea what was going on. One moment she was trying to talk to Jack, to get him to talk to her, then everything when white. When he vision came back to her she was directly in front of a door and decided to open it, seeing no other options. It was her old home, the home from many years ago. An uncomfortable feeling began to worm its way into her stomach. Seeing movement she realized she wasn't alone and turned to the couch to see someone she hadn't imagined she would see. "John." she breathed out. John looked just as shocked as she felt and he climbed to his feet.

"Mary?" John moved forward a few steps, reaching out. Mary took a step forward, putting her in the reach of his hand. He slowly brushed his hand along the side of her face. She didn't vanish, his hand didn't go through her. He dropped his hand to her shoulder, grabbing onto it with all the force he could summon. With the small wince on her face he knew she felt it. She was real! She wasn't an image, or a memory. Mary was right in front of him, somehow! John let go of her arm in favor of grabbing her and pulling her to her chest, hugging her. He felt her tense up for a moment before she slid her arms around him, hugging him back just as fierce. "I can't believe it. You're really here."

Mary was just as stunned. If this was really John, then she was in Heaven. She was dead! She briefly wondered how she died and hoping that whatever killed her would leave Jack alone, unless it was Jack who had killed her. Then she let the thought fade from her mind. Jack would be fine. The boys would be fine. And her? For the first time in a long time everything was right. John was here, in her arms, and this time he wasn't going to fade away. "I am." she assured him. She wasn't going to leave him, not now that they finally found each other again.

John felt tears fill his eyes. He didn't understand how or why this had finally happened, but he wasn't about to question it. He pulled back just enough to kiss her and she kissed him back. John didn't want this moment to end, but eventually it had to and they broke away. As John looked at her smiling face his thoughts went back to his boys, they're boys.

A feeling of pain and dread filled John's heart. He had to tell her what happened, how he had lost himself to revenge after Mary's death. How he had learned about the monsters that existed in the world and how he dragged the boy into it. He took their choices from them, made them go with him on the inane hunt, and they suffered for it. What would Mary say when he tells her all of it? About how he forced Dean to be a parent to Sam and a hunter while he was still an innocent child? How he put Dean in danger on all those hunts he dragged him on, even back when he was nine years old while Sam was away with a family friend, ignorant to the danger his father and brother were in? How Sam had to watch his girlfriend die on the ceiling of their college dorm room because he got too close to the demon in his hunt for revenge? How he had chased Sam away in the first place and told him to never come back to his family? How the whole thing was over the demon trying to use Sam and John had never gathered the courage to tell the boy but instead put a task on Dean that he wouldn't put on his own worst enemy? Yet he had seen what happened to the boys, that it didn't end in pain and torment. Mary would be so proud of them too. Of how loyal and dutiful Dean was, standing by his family through everything. How Sam was so intelligent, enough to get a full ride scholarship to Standford for a law degree. Most importantly, how the boys stood by each other and looked out for each other. "I have so much to tell you." John admitted. He felt Mary bury her head into his shoulder.

Mary had an idea of what John wanted to tell her. He probably had much more to say than what Sam and Dean glossed over, and she was sure he would tell her the things the boys had purposely left out to make their dad seem like the good guy. However she had to tell him what she had hidden too. She wondered how he would feel, knowing how all this with the demon was her fault? How she started all this with her hunter life, with the demon she made a deal with? How would he feel learning she had been revived? How she had distanced herself from the boys and even joined an organization that one of the members of tortured Sam and tied up and beat Dean? She didn't know what John thought happened to the boys, or if he could even remember the experience in 2019 thanks to the pearl, but she knew that he would be proud of them. She wanted to tell him all about Castiel and Jack. About how Sam was a leader now, had created his own team of hunters who followed his orders. How Dean was strong enough to cage an archangel with his willpower alone. But most importantly how the boys had created their own little home and family. How the boys still stood by each other no matter what. "I do too." she admitted.

John ran a hand through her hair. He could hear how pained her voice was and it confused him. What could she possibly have to tell him? Maybe about her time as a ghost in their home, tied and trapped in that house until Dean and Sam burst in and she had to use her entire existence in order to keep them from getting killed? Or maybe there were regrets that she never got to tell him when they were alive. At the end of the day none of that mattered. They were finally together again. "We have all the time in the world." he encouraged. John pulled her to the couch and the two sat down. Mary curled up into John's side and he wrapped an arm around her. For now, all that mattered was that they were together and he wanted to enjoy this peace before they told each other everything they needed to.

**So I decided to actually write a real story about Mary and John's adventures in Heaven together. I don't know how many chapters I'm goin to write, or how far I wan to take this, but in the next chapter we see Cas when he came to check on Mary and find out where she is. I hope you like it. If you have any characters that you want to see, or anything that you want John and Mary specifically to learn about their boys, let me know so I can add it to the list. I'm planning onjust doing a bunch of visits to the Roadhouse where John and Mary can learn more about the boys adventures through their friends and reunite with old friends of theirs as well!**


	2. John meets Cas

The door opened and John woke up. He wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but from the sharp jerk next to him, it seemed Mary had too. He looked at the door, his hunter instincts having kicked in and wanted to assess the threat. There was a new man, looking confused then relieved as he looked at John and Mary. John was about to speak, to demand who he was and what he was doing there, but Mary put a hand on his shoulder. "Cas, what are you doing here?" she asked. John looked at her, surprised. So she knew this man?

"Mary…I uh…I came to see you." he said. The man sounded conflicted as he looked around and John felt more and more confused. "Sam and Dean…they aren't alright." he said. John hadn't thought he could be more confused before, but as this conversation went on he realized he was missing something. This man, Cas, knew both Mary and the boys. How was that possible?

"John…this is Castiel, he's an angel." Mary said, looking between them. John's mind whirled, trying to make the pieces fit together. Mary had been dead and just came to join him in Heaven. How did she get there unless and angel had brought her to him? But where was she before that? This angel knew Sam and Dean, so was it possible she left a Heaven where she was with the boys to come with him. But if that was the case then their boys were dead! John felt sick. How could Sam and Dean be dead?

"Mr. Winchester it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Sam and Dean have told me a lot about you. Dean especially." the angel said. John's brow furrowed.

"You say it like you and Dean are friends." he said. John knew Dean better than almost anyone, the only other being he knew of being able to claim that was Sam. Dean didn't like to talk about himself, knew the consequences with other people about telling them about their lives. Dean was also not one to talk about things that would upset him, and John was fairly sure he was a taboo subject with Dean to people Dean wasn't close to. Cas nodded.

"Dean is my best friend." he said. John felt like the world stopped making sense for a moment. Dean was best friends with an angel? And Sam must have been close to him too if he was talking to this angel about John. Clearly this wasn't a simple encounter with the boys but an actual friendship. But how did Mary play into that? "Mary, I came to bring you back. Sam and Dean are trying to find a way and Dean said they were going to see if Rowena had any spells in the Book of the Damned." he said. John shook his head, trying to make pieces fit. His new puzzle shattered away to leave a blank slate.

Mary frowned. She honestly had expected something like this. After all when Cas died, the boys wanted him back. When Jack died Cas went and retrieved him from Heaven as Sam and Dean found a way to tie him back to his body. The boys had a hard time of letting those they love go, and there was no doubt in her mind they were going to do whatever they could to bring her back. Mary found herself shaking her head. "I'm not leaving here. I'm staying with John." she said. After all she never really fit in again. She had found a purpose with the Men of Letters, but that fell through when she saw their true nature. She had found a purpose in the Apocalypse World, just to be dragged back to her own reality. She had found a purpose with assisting the survivors, but Michael killed them. She had found a purpose with her sons, but they didn't need her anymore.

"Mary, they need you." Cas insisted. Mary shook her head again, trying to will the angel to understand.

"No, they don't. They have you and Jack." she said. Cas opened his mouth but seemed to decide to not say what was on his mind. Mary had an idea of what it was. "I know Jack was the one to kill me, but Cas, he's still a good kid. The boys, they are going to be lost and upset. I need you to help them through it. All of them." she said, insisting that she didn't just mean Sam and Dean, but Jack too. She could see out of the corner of her eye that John had questions. He was practically bursting at the seams with them, but seemed to decide he would wait to ask. Cas nodded.

"Very well." he said. Mary smiled.

"Cas, I want you tell them that I'm happy. That I'm at peace. I know how they are. They are going to need you, especially Dean." she said. After all, Sam took after John. The John she knew. That John was open and would tell her every time there was something wrong. He was intelligent and had a way of thinking through the problem, like when they were fighting and he made the decision to step away a few days to give them the space they needed to cool off before addressing the issue. Sam would be the same. Dean however took after her. Misplaced guilt and hiding emotions were something they both did. Dean would find some way to feel responsible for this, to take at least part of the blame on himself and would go out and do something reckless and dangerous to himself and others to fix it. She needed Cas to stop him, to show him that she was fine with how things turned out.

"I understand." the angel said. Then he turned and left. Mary could feel John shaking next to her, the strain of trying to figure out how to ask what he needed to know and trying to sort out his own thoughts. She was sure he was trying to put together what he heard in order to make sense of it all.

"After I died in our house, my spirit couldn't leave." it seemed the best place to start, an as a hunter she was sure John would understand this. "I stayed in that house, trying to protect those where were there. One day a poltergeist came in, a bad one. I tried to warn the family to leave, but in the end they would have died if Sam and Dean hadn't come in. I was surprised to see how old they got, how much they grew. When the poltergeist went after them…well I couldn't' let it. I don't really know what happened, but the next thing I knew I was here, in Heaven. I kept seeing our life, living with you and our four year old Dean and baby Sam." she said. Mary finally looked at John again, seeing him staring at her intently. It was almost painful to her, seeing no judgment in that gaze, only the desire to understand and learn.

"Then I wasn't in heaven anymore. I was in the woods on earth and while I was trying to figure out what was going on, where I was, Dean came to me." she said. She could still see that night, the confusion then the utter joy in her oldest when he realized it really was his mom. John frowned.

"Dean…what did he do?" John felt like the air was leaving his lungs. Did Dean make a deal? What did his oldest do to bring back Mary? Why now? John couldn't wrap his head around it. And if Dean was making deals with demons or other creatures did that mean Dean was still hunting? That made no sense! Dean was supposed to quit hunting now that he killed the demon they had been hunting? Could Dean just not let go of the life? And what about Sam? Dean wasn't likely to take another full time partner without Sam around, so did that mean Dean was hunting alone? And if Sam wasn't hunting did he finally go to a normal life? Or did he die?

"He did what he and Sam do. He saved the world." Mary said with a smile. John gave her a confused look before reaching to the coffee table for his beer. As he was about to take a sip he stopped. Mary figured he needed something stronger so she got up and headed to the kitchen. She could hear him following her and she went to where she recalled keeping a few bottles of alcohol. Back then they saved it for celebrations. She pulled down two glasses and a bottle of John's favorite whisky. He gently took the bottle from her hands, opening it himself and pouring them each a drink as he reached around her. Mary leaned back into his chest as he closed the bottle and placed it on the counter. Mary then shifted her weight forward and grabbed the glasses before turning to face him.

"So you were brought back to life because Sam and Dean saved the world?" John asked. It wasn't that he didn't believe her, because he did. That sounds like something that the boys would do, see evil and go out and destroy it to protect innocent people. Yet he didn't understand how it could have come to that. John took a drink from his glass and Mary did the same.

"Dean was by himself. Apparently Amara, the Darkness, had been set free by Sam and she mortally wounded her brother God." Mary started, but John held up a hand. She stopped to let him process what he just heard. It was a lot of information to take in at once.

"So wait, God has a sister, and you met them both?" John asked, addressing the most concerning piece of that first. Mary frowned.

"I didn't no. Sam and Dean did." she said. John nodded before taking another drink. He had been a catholic before Mary's death, and afterwards he still had faith, but that faith had been twisted and distorted by the evil that filled the world. John had believed that God existed once, but as time went on with the hunts and he had seen the real evil that existed he began to question it. Now he was being told God really did exist, and not only that but his boys had personally met him. In addition to that, he had a sister?

"Alright, and why did God's sister want to kill him?" he asked, trying to understand. After all there was no way Mary would lie to him, especially about something like this.

"Because he locked her away at the beginning, and he was trying to do it again." Mary explained. John nodded.

"I see, because Sam set her free…why?" he asked. After all he can't imagine Sam of all people setting an ancient evil loose on the world. He couldn't fathom any reason his boy would do that. Mary looked down.

"From what the boys told me, Dean was cursed and it was the only way to save him." Mary said. John wanted to curse. How did Dean get cursed? How bad must it have been that Sam felt the need to unleash something that could kill God onto the world to save him? John wondered just what he doomed his children to by teaching them to hunt in the first place. It was clear by now the boys never left hunting like he thought they had. "Amara had apparently wanted to destroy the world, and the only one who could go anywhere near her was Dean. Sam said there was a bond between Dean and Amara that wouldn't let them hurt each other. In order to try and save the world, they but a bomb inside Dean made of pure souls and Dean was going to use himself to take her down." Mary said. John felt his breath catch in his throat. Before he could say anything or even put his emotions into thoughts, Mary had plowed on with her explanation. "Dean ended up talking to them and helping Amara and God renew their bond. As a thank you God took the bomb out of Dean's body and Amara returned me to life." Mary said. John could feel air enter his lungs again.

"I see." he said, trying to show that he understood how Mary was resurrected. It was a lot of information, too much to fully digest at once. He knew he'd have questions later, things he would need to have clarified. Not only that but he would need to understand how things got that bad to begin with. How did Dean get cursed and what did that curse do to him? For now, this was good enough.

"John…are you alright?" Mary asked. She was worried about how he would take all this. He took another drink. She reached behind her to grab the bottle but John grabbed her wrist. She smiled, glad he wasn't going to try and depend on alcohol to get through this conversation. He slowly nodded.

"Yeah. I just…need a minute. I hoped the boys would leave hunting after everything, so to hear that not only have they kept hunting but had to save the entire world is a little much." he admitted. Mary nodded. John looked her in the eye. "Mary, I'm sorry." he said. Mary blinked, confused. This didn't seem right to her.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"This is all my fault." he said. She continued to give him a confused look so he decided to elaborate. "When you died, I lost myself. All I could think of was killing what killed you that night. I dragged Sam and Dean into being hunters, and now you've been dragged into it too." he said. After all, she had to have gotten involved in hunting after she was brought back. She seemed far too comfortable with what she was telling him about God and Amara to not understand the supernatural world. Mary's face fell and she looked at the ground.

"No John, it's not." she said. She could hear John open his mouth to argue, and she knew she had to tell him now. "My family, the Campbells, have been hunters for as far back as anyone ever bothered to trace." she said. When she didn't hear anything she looked back at John's face to see how confused he looked. "My parents Samuel and Deanna Campbell were famous hunters. I was raised to be a hunter too, but I never wanted to be in that life. Then I met you, and you took me away from it. Or at least you tried to." she said. John scowled, but not out of anger, more like confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked. He didn't understand. She was a hunter before they ever met? And how did he take her away from something that he didn't know what it was? As John thought over what he knew about Mary's family he remembered a vague altercation with her father, and she mentioned once not long after they got married that her parents both passed, a car accident maybe?

"The night we left, my parents were killed. Azazel, the leader of the four princes of hell and the former king of hell, had been working for Lucifer on a plan to revive him. That involved making deal with people to have access to their children so he could create the perfect leader for a demon army. He killed my parents, and then you. He offered me a deal, he would bring you back if I would allow him in our home in ten years." she said. She looked down, as if she couldn't bear to see his reaction. John's mind was working overdrive, trying to understand. Mary had made a deal to save him, and that let yellow eyes into their home that night? John had known about the plan to make special children for a leader for the demon army and he knew yellow eyes was a dangerous son of a bitch, but he had no idea he had been that important. Looking at Mary again, he could see she truly blamed every bad thing that ever happened to their family on her and that deal.

"Mary." he started. He pulled the glass out of her hand and reached around her with both hands to put the glasses on the counter behind them. Then he wrapped those arms around her and pulled her close, hugging her. "This isn't your fault. You did what you felt you had to do. There's no telling what would have happened if you made a different choice, but I am glad you made the one you did." he said, trying to reassure her. To his surprise she actually laughed. "What?" he asked, wondering where that came from.

"I know exactly what would have happened if I hadn't said yes. When Jack was born he accidentally tore open a portal to another world." she said. John frowned. There was that name again, Jack. It was the name she said when she was talking to the angel Cas. However he momentarily pushed the man, rather child if he was born recently, from his mind as the rest of the sentence caught up with him.

"There are other worlds?" he asked. Suddenly John felt sick. What had his family gotten into? Werewolves, vampires, ghosts, and all the other monsters were one thing. That was normal, that made sense. Hell, even the random minor god or deity made sense. However God, other worlds, the King of Hell, God's sister. None of that was normal. That was way beyond the pa-ygrade of any hunter.

"Yes, a few from what I've heard. Sam and Dean told me about one they call 'The Bad Place' where there are strange creatures and monsters." she said. John blinked as he continued to hold Mary, trying to process this. "The world Jack opened was exactly like ours, until the moment Azazel offered me the deal. In that world I didn't take the deal, and because of that Sam and Dean were never born. Without them, the Apocalypse happened and humans were nearly existent. Angels won the war and took over everything, bringing the whole world to destruction." John was floored. He hugged Mary tight, wanting her to know that none of this was on her.

"I guess it's a good thing you said yes." he said. It was a thin attempt of humor, but Mary laughed anyway. John let go of Mary and they made their way back to the living room, to the couch. They settled onto the cushions again, and John tried to mull over everything he learned. His boys were heroes, the ones who saved the world. And Mary got to see them again! He had many more questions. Many things that needed to be said and questioned. However he needed to process what had been told to him. They had all the time in the world after all.

**Next chapter Ash comes crashing in and we start moving to the Roadhouse. Hope you enjoy!**


	3. The Roadhouse exists in Heaven

John was preparing dinner for himself and Mary. John had married Mary for many reasons, but none of those had including her cooking skills. John himself wasn't the best cook, but Mary was a hazard in the kitchen. He remembered one time when he was with the boys and Dean had tried to copy her cooking skills, making that 'Winchester surprise' of hers. All it did was remind him of Mary and he threw the entire thing out. While John and Sam had never been too skilled in the kitchen, the food they made was edible. Dean was the cook of the family, and a fairly good one when he figured out how to do it. Another regret John felt, the fact that Dean had to learn how to cook for them all.

The sound of the door opening again made John pause. He looked over at Mary who was sitting at the table, now fully alert as well. John tightened his hold around the knife in his hand as he moved into the living room, Mary at his side. A young man stood in their living room, sporting a mullet of all things! The man looked over at them and broke out into a huge grin. "It's true then! I finally found you!" he said. John looked at Mary, thinking maybe she knew who this intruder was like the last one, but she looked just as confused as him. John looked back at the man when a thought occurred to him. When Mary and the angel came into their home, they had come through the front door. This man was in front of the closet!

"Who are you?" John asked. The young man turned and started drawing on the closet door, as if John hadn't spoken. "Hey!" John called, wanting an answer.

"My name is Ash, I'm a friend of Sam and Dean's." the man answered as he continued to draw on the door. John and Mary looked at each other. John turned back to him.

"Are you another angel?" John asked. After all Mary and Cas said Dean was Cas' best friend, so it seemed like Dean had a habit of befriending angels. To his surprise the young man snorted.

"Angels are dicks. I'm just a badass." the man said. John gave Mary a confused look and Mary looked up for a moment before nodding. It was a movement he recognized from watching Dean do it over the years. It was one that said that after thinking about it for a moment they agreed with what they were hearing. If angels were 'dicks' as they put it, why was Dean friends with one? Now that he was thinking about Cas again, John wanted to know how Dean was friends with an angel. If Cas knew his family so well, then it was clear that he wasn't in Heaven anymore. So did that mean Cas had been kicked out of Heaven? If so then what was Dean and the others connection to a fallen angel?

"What are you doing?" Mary asked finally. The man ignored her for a moment, then he stopped drawing.

"That should do it." he said before turning to Mary and John. "Come with me if you want answers." he said, then he pulled open the door. John and Mary were both expecting to see the inside of the closet. A few coats hanging in the back, maybe Dean's old car set sitting on the floor. Instead what they saw was in the inside of a bar. They looked at each other again, not sure what to do. When they turned back to the door, the man was already gone, having gone through the door. Hunter instincts told them to stay where they were, to just close the door and pretend like it never happened. However the guy had said he was a friend of Sam and Dean's, and he did promise answers. The two went inside.

John was stunned. He didn't understand how, but there was no mistaking that they were in Harvell's Roadhouse. And they weren't alone either. The place was packed! There were hunters everywhere, drinking, watching small televisions that were on the tables, playing pool, and just carrying on like normal. "Where are we?" Mary asked from next to him.

"The Harvelle Roadhouse." The young man, Ash, said from the door. John winced at the confirmation. He hasn't been here in many years.

"Who's all here?" he found himself asking. Ash looked around, putting his hands on his hips in a sign of pride.

"Well Bill and Ellen moved in a while ago. Jo and Charlie started helpin' me with getting' folks here. Pretty much every one." he said. John didn't know what 'everyone' meant, or how they all mixed together, but he did know that he was currently in the bar of a man who he had killed. John wanted to turn and run, to get as far away from there as possible. He couldn't bare it if Bill saw him and accused him of destroying his family in front of Mary, who's children he practically destroyed by raising them as hunters.

"John! Well, it's about time you made it." John felt the ability to use words fail him as Bill approached them. This reaction didn't make any sense to him. He was the one who asked Bill to go on the hunt with him. He was the one who made the mistake of jumping too soon, leaving Bill vulnerable. It was him who told Bill he should be the bait, it was him who gave all of Bill's advantages away, and it was him who put the bullet in Bill's head when it became apparent there was no way to save him. Bill however just came up behind him, slapping an arm onto John's shoulder and looking over at Mary. "And who's this lovely lady?" he asked.

"Mary, I'm his wife." Mary explained, seeing how upset John looked. She didn't understand what was wrong. From looking at this man's reaction, they were long time friends, but John seemed terrified of him. "And you are?" she asked. Clearly John wasn't up to making the introductions.

"Bill Harvelle. The Roadhouse, the real Roadhouse, was owned by me and my wife Ellen. It was a place open to hunters and used to help make connections and friends for hunts. John here is a long time patron and he's like family to mine." Bill said. John felt his throat go dry. He wanted to tell Bill to stop lying, to say what he really felt. There was no way Bill could still think that. Bill started steering John toward the bar with Mary walking beside them.

"Well, look who finally made they're way here." a man at the bar said. John felt like the bottom of his stomach fell out. Jim Murphy and Caleb were sitting at the bar, smiling at him.

"Hey John, it's been a while." Caleb said. John looked between the three men who's lives were over because of him. He looked at Mary, wondering just what she was going to say.

"I'm s…I'm so sorry." John finally found his voice. The three actually looked surprised. Bill pulled out two glasses and began to fill them with draft beer.

"Well, never thought I'd see the day where John Winchester is apologizing." he said, finishing with the first glass and moving to the second. John couldn't read what he was thinking, so he tried again.

"I mean it you know. I never meant for…" he started, very aware of Mary's gaze on him.

"John, we're hunters. It's part of the job." Bill said, turning to John and Mary with the full glasses and set them down in front of them. John shook his head.

"You died because of me. You missed all of Jo's life. Jim, Caleb, you were killed by a demon just because you were my friend." John croaked out. Even breathing felt hard right now. He had never really considered the possibility he would have to face them all again. Jim sighed.

"John, if that demon had found you it would have found Sam and Dean too. I wasn't about to let her go after you all. Those boys are like my own sons too." Jim said, and John knew that was true. In the beginning when Dean was still very young, Jim Murphy had already started backing off from hunting so much and started working more at his church. He started doing more of a guiding and mentoring role. John had lost track of the number of times he dropped Sam and Dean off at Jim's or Bobby's to watch them while John went on a hunt. It wasn't until Dean was six and John had started training him in weapons that he started to cart the boys around with him more. Even then there were days he would take just Dean and leave Sam with Jim so he could teach Dean how to hunt while Sam still had no idea what truly was out there.

"John…" Bill leaned over the bar so John could see him. He glanced over to a blonde woman serving drinks and John realized it was Jo. Then he turned back to John. "I wanted to hate you. I really did. I never got to see my daughter grow up. I missed her whole life, but you know what? I can't hate you. Because even if I had been there, even if I had been by Jo's side every day, nothing would have changed. Me, Ellen, and Jo would all still be right here, right now." he said. John felt an unsettled feeling in him. The entire Harvelle family was dead, including Jo. Jo was around Sam's age, far too young to be dead.

"How….how'd they die?" John found himself asking. He had an idea already. Jo had always looked up to hunters, and Ellen probably hadn't been able to just walk away like she wanted to. Bill gave him a small smile.

"They were on a job, helping Sam, Dean, and their friend Castiel hunt down the devil himself." Bill said. John was stunned, for more reasons than just one. He was shocked that Sam and Dean had been with Ellen and Jo when they died, just like he had been with Bill. But even more shocking was not only the confirmation that Sam and Dean truly were still hunting, but they were hunting things like the devil! "Don't look too upset. Neither of them are upset about it. We've all made out peace with what happened." Bill said, then he leaned back before picking up a rag and starting to wipe down the bar. Caleb and Jim both nodded to show they agreed.

"So, when did you bite it?" Caleb asked after a few minutes. John glanced over at Mary, not sure how much the boys told her. Knowing Dean, he probably glossed it over or made John out to be some great hero. Sam could either go one of two ways. Sam would demonize him as much as possible or he would make it as simple as possible.

"A few days after you two." John admitted. Jim, Caleb, and Bill all looked unfazed.

"Ellen figured as much. She said Sam and Dean came to the Roadhouse and told her." Bill said. John was surprised as that. He had kept Sam and Dean away from other hunters for many reasons. One was he didn't want the boys to make friends with hunters because he didn't want them to stay in life. Friends meant contacts. Contacts meant people who called you to ask for backup. He didn't want Sam and Dean to feel obligated to return to hunting because someone asked them for help. Then there was the fact that every hunter had killed monsters, and those monsters had families too. Some would go off for revenge. Trouble followed hunters wherever they went, and John didn't want Sam and Dean to get mixed up in that. Yet it seemed fate didn't care what John wanted and sure enough Sam and Dean had found they're way to the Roadhouse and that meant all the things John had tried to shelter them from over the years.

"So, who is the lady with you?" Jim asked with a smile. John seemed to recall that not only did the three not know who Mary was, she didn't know them either.

"Oh, this is my wife Mary. Mary, this is Jim Murphy, Caleb, and you met Bill. They were all hunting partners of mine." John said. He almost winced, knowing exactly where Dean had picked up the bad habit of saying only what needed to be said without elaborating.

"What creature finally got the great John Winchester?" Caleb asked with a playful smirk. John frowned.

"The demon. The one I was hunting." he admitted. The three all looked surprised.

"So the female demon that was looking for you…." Jim started.

"The boys called her Meg. Apparently she was Azazel's daughter." John said. Caleb and Bill looked confused but Jim looked thoughtful.

"Azazel, as in the Prince of Hell?" he asked. John nodded.

"It was the same demon that we hunted together Bill, the girl Meg. Apparently he had another kid, a boy named Tom. They set a trap for me and the Colt, but I went with a fake and left the real colt with the boys. They captured me and called the boys to tell them what happened. Yellow eyes…Azazel…he possessed me while the boys exorcised Meg back to Hell. When they were trying to rescue me, Dean used the Colt to kill the other kid. Azazel was pissed at him, so when he let the boys know that he was in me…he tore Dean apart." John knew he had to come clean about this, that they deserved to know. The looks of horror on all their faces, including Mary's, told him the boys hadn't explained what happened.

"Dean...he didn't die did he?" Caleb asked. John frowned.

"When Azazel was using me to torture Dean, I managed to restrain him from inside. It gave Sam enough time to grab the Colt and shoot me in the leg. I tried to hold the demon in me and have Sam shoot me, to kill me and the demon together, but Dean wouldn't have it." John said. Jim nodded.

"Dean was always loyal to a fault." he agreed. John knew most hunters that did see his son in action had always likened Dean to John's personal soldier.

"Sam refused and Azazel got away. Sam was taking us to the hospital but a demon crashed a semi into the car. Me and Sam were alright, just a little banged up but….Dean was already in bad shape to begin with and he was in a coma. He wasn't going to wake up." John said. He heard his own voice crack so he picked up his beer and took a long drink, anything to buy him a few seconds. The others were giving him looks of sympathy. For him, watching his kids suffer, for Dean and the pain he went through, and for Sam and how afraid Sam must have been watching his brother lay in a hospital unconscious. "I summoned the demon and made a deal, my soul for Dean's. He healed Dean and gave me a chance to say good bye to the boys, then he took both my soul and the Colt." John said. The three men and Mary looked thoughtful at that.

"You went to Hell?" Caleb asked. John nodded.

"Yeah. I went to Hell." he confirmed. He didn't have any desire to elaborate on that. He spent a hundred and twenty years under the knife of Alistair, the greatest torturer and tormentor that Hell had ever created. John couldn't even put the horrors of what had been done to him, of what he had seen, into words.

"And now you're here?" Jim asked. It was more curiosity than anything. John nodded.

"I'm not really sure what happened, but a door opened. I fought my way off the rack and crawled out of Hell. It was in a graveyard, and I saw my boys. Sam was off to the side and Azazel was standing over Dean, about to shot him with the Colt. I distracted him long enough for Dean to kill the bastard. I don't really know what happened after that. I guess just knowing that the boys were safe and it was all over was enough to let my soul cross over." John said.

"I can tell you what happened." John looked up to see Ellen coming behind the bar with a case of beer. He was surprised. Bill smirked and Jim, Caleb, and Mary looked at her, expecting her to explain more. Ellen started putting the bottles into the fridge. "That yellow eyed demon of yours, he was making all those gifted children he created fight to the death." she said. John was surprised, but so was Mary. That was one of those things Sam and Dean had glossed over. "I think one of those kids are hanging around. Andrew Gallagher, he's a friend of Sam's." Ellen said, looking around to see if he was in the bar at the moment. Not seeing him she turned back to her audience. "He was going to use which ever one was left standing to open a door to Hell." Ellen said. John scowled.

"And that was Sam." he concluded. To his surprise Ellen shook her head.

"No, it was some kid named Jake. He killed Sam." she said. John felt like he couldn't breathe.

"What?! That's….that's not possible." he said. Mary had implied that Sam was still with Dean, so there was no way Sam was killed before he crawled out of Hell. Hell, Sam had been right there when he did it! He looked at Mary to see she looked just as surprised as he did.

"Dean couldn't let Sam die though, so he went and made a deal with a crossroads demon. His soul for Sam." Ellen said. John shook his head. Dean couldn't do something so reckless! Dean was usually the voice of reason on their hunts, the one that pulled John back when he got too reckless or did something that he would regret. However in the back of his mind John knew it was true. When he or Sam was involved Dean had no restrictions, no parameters. He would do anything to protect them, to protect Sam.

"So he got ten years." John realized. He quickly tried to do the math. He had died in 2006 and the escaped Hell in 2007. He wasn't exactly sure what the year was anymore, but that meant Dean had until around 2017 before Dean would be subjected to the same torment he had been. Ellen sighed, clearly not wanting to tell him what she had to next.

"Actually they gave him one year." she said. Jim, Caleb, and Mary all shifted uneasily, like they had known about this part.

"What year is it?" John asked, looking at Mary. Mary tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"2019." she said. So Dean went to Hell in 2008, and that was…god it was eleven years ago! John didn't know how to feel. Yet somehow his brain was telling him that couldn't be right. That angel Cas had said 'Sam and Dean are worried', as in both of his boys were alive and well.

"And Dean?" he asked.

"He was pulled out of Hell after four months." Ellen said. John closed his eyes. Those that had not been to Hell didn't understand. Time in Hell worked differently. His son, his oldest child, was in Hell being tortured every day for forty years. He would just be turning forty this year, meaning he spent exactly half his existence being tortured in Hell. How was that fair?

"I see." he said. He had questions, like how Dean got out, what the price was, but at the moment he couldn't bring himself to ask. There was just too much information. He had missed so much, had been absent from so much of his boys lives. To hear they had been hunting for the last thirteen years hurt more than he could admit.

"Do you want to see them?" Ellen asked. John looked up at her, surprised.

"You can do that?" he asked. In all the time he had been in Heaven, he hadn't found any way to view the world below. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't thought it was possible to see anyone else either, but somehow the Roadhouse existed. Ellen smiled.

"That boy Ash, when he first died and came to Heaven the first thing he did was tap into the angel's communication. He quickly became fluent in enochian and started figuring out how to travel from one heaven to another." Ellen said. Mary and John both turned to look at Ash. The kid sure as hell didn't look like the genius Ellen was describing, sleeping stretched out on a pool table. "After he brought Pamelia here and Sam and Dean told him me and Jo were dead…" Ellen started.

"Sam and Dean have been here?" John didn't mean to interrupt her, but he didn't like the implication that his boys were in Heaven. Ellen nodded.

"Sam and Dean have died more times than any of us can count, but they keep getting brought back. They still have some things to do. Neither of them have made it back to Heaven in a while though. But Ash had started working on ways for us to watch people who are still alive. After he brought me, Jo, and Bill here he hacked into the televisions in the bar and made it so we can watch people who are alive. Each channel is a different person. Jo usually keeps the main one on Dean." Ellen said with a smirk. Jo happened to be walking by at the time and glared at her mother, turning a little red before hurrying off. Mary chuckled. "We had a hard time finding people. Heaven used to be a bit of a mess, people's personal heaven's popping up everywhere and Ash had to use all kinds of strange formulas just to locate people. Then a few years ago all the angels were expelled from Heaven. When they retook it, the one angel Hannah took over and made some reforms, including a major reorganization. Now it's actually pretty easy to find others. Ash and another genius named Charlie started working on making permeate doors between peoples personal heaven's and Ash's, which is the Roadhouse. Now people can come and go whenever they want without Ash needing to help them. Jo and Charlie keep an eye on the list of new arrivals into Heaven so Ash and Charlie can make the portals for friends and family. It's gotten easier since we can see people down there too and know when they die." Ellen explained.

While Ellen was explaining how all this came to be, Bill was already turning on the television. Mary was surprised when she saw Cas, Sam, and Dean standing in the bunker in front of a large group of hunters. John was floored. His boys looked so grown up. A voice in the back of him mind reminded him that they didn't just look grown up, they were with Dean at forty and Sam about to turn thirty-six. Then there was that angel again, Cas. It was clear that it was Mary's wake. They watched in awe as Dean made a heart wrenching speech, and true to Dean Winchester fashion there was a few jokes thrown in there too. Then an axe came flying into the room and one of the guests fell dead. Mary recognized the man who had gone down, a wraith that her and Bobby hunted. She actually laughed. There was nothing that she wanted more than a monster hunt in the middle of her wake. "Who is that man? Cas you called him, and angel." John finally had to know. From what he was seeing, Cas was close to his boys, important to them.

"Cas is the angel that pulled Dean out of Hell." Ellen explained. John looked back at the screen as the wake continued on, like no one cared about the dead monster on the floor. "He was charged by Heaven to protect Dean. Honestly that's the only order he's ever kept." Ellen said with a laugh. John looked at Mary before looking back at the screen. "He cares a lot for Sam and Dean. They are his family. And the boys care for him."

John went back to his drink. It was hard seeing his boys in so much pain, the idea that they had to lose their mother a second time. For Sam this was the first time he truly lost his mother. Before that Mary was just a person Sam had heard about but never met. A woman he only knew through stories and pictures. This time, he had a relationship with her. He knew who she was as a person. For Dean it was different. Dean knew her before she died. He had a relationship with her then, and his four year old watched her die that November night. When she came back they had to create a new relationship, as the one they had before would no longer work. And then he lost her again.

"And Jack?" he asked. Everyone suddenly shifted, as if they didn't want to be the one to explain it.

"He's Cas, Sam, and Dean's son. They adopted him after he was born." Mary said. John scowled, recalling Mary and Cas's conversation.

"I thought you said Jack killed you." he said. Mary nodded.

"Jack is a Nephilim. The son of Lucifer and the human Kelly Kline. When he was born two years ago he used his powers to grow into a teenager because the world wanted him dead and he couldn't stay as a baby. He's still just a child, and he is probably the most powerful thing I've ever seen." Mary said. John took another long drink of his beer. "He can't control his powers, and I know he didn't mean to kill me." she said.

"Do they know that?" John asked, looking back at the screen. He wondered how many people could see it. Just how messed up the boys were. He didn't know Cas, but even he could read the sorrow on the angel's face. And Sam, the open and easy to read son of his was clearly holding on by a thread. Then there was Dean. To most people it looked like Dean was fine, better than they would expect for a man who just salted and burned his own mother, but John knew him. He could see that Dean wasn't holding on anymore, Dean had already snapped. Dean was getting ready to do something, and John wasn't sure they would like the outcome. It was like Dean was standing on a cliff and someone pushed him over the edge. He had no idea what put Dean on that edge though.

"I'm sure they…" Mary started, but then she trailed off. He knew she wasn't sure either. Cas knew for sure, he had said that. Sam would probably think it over, but would Dean? John really hoped so.

"They'll be alright." Ellen said, cutting over them. She knew they couldn't let the conversation continue like this. John snorted.

"And how do you know that?" he challenged. He didn't know what kind of relationship Ellen had with his boys, but he knew them well enough to know they were not fine. Ellen frowned, a challenge.

"Because they always are, and they've been through things like this before. When you start watching instead of living you see patterns." Ellen said.

"Like?" John hissed. Ellen sighed.

"They'll do something stupid, they all will, and then they'll pull their heads out of their asses and fix it. Because that's what those boys do." Ellen said. John looked back at the screen. He found that hard to believe, but the fact that he learned Dean had been through Hell, been tortured just as long as he had been alive and was still standing there, not having gone insane and being locked in a mental institution was enough to tell him that his boys were stronger than he thought they were. Bill reached up and turned off the t.v. And for a second John wanted to hit him. He looked over at Mary who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"I think we're going to head back. This is a lot for one day." John mused, chugging down what was left of his beer. Bill, Ellen, Jim, and Caleb all nodded, like they understood what he meant. Mary stood up, her beer mostly untouched, and she slid the glass over to Caleb.

"Come back whenever. The door's always open." Ellen called, and the two Winchesters nodded as they returned to their own personal Heaven.


	4. Mary tells the boys story

John looked over at Mary to see her sitting on the couch, reading a book. "What did the boys tell you? When you came back?" he asked. He wanted to know what to expect, after all he missed thirteen years. He was sure there was more to it than Dean going to Hell and Sam reviving the darkness. Hell he still didn't even fully understand the fact that Dean was cursed, that Sam had somehow managed to remove such a powerful curse that could unleash God's own sister from a cage, or how Lucifer was even able to have a kid. Why did the angels pull Dean out of Hell? Despite the fact angels were supposed to be benevolent he doubted they went to Hell just to rescue one man unless they had something they needed from him. Not to mention Mary and the others didn't seem to have the highest opinion of angels.

"Well, after Sam and Dean saw you go to Heaven, they started working with Bobby to hunt down the demons that escaped from the Hell gate. With Azazel dead there was no one to run Hell until Lilith, the first demon stepped up." Mary said. John frowned at that but nodded. He had assumed the throne would go to the second Prince of Hell, but he figured since Lilith was older than all other demons it wasn't too surprising. "According to Dean she saw Sam as a threat since Sam was supposed to be the next leader of Hell by Azazel's plan, so she started targeting the boys, and the boys were trying to find a way to save Dean from his deal." Mary said.

"Which they didn't manage to do." John said bitterly. Mary nodded. At least that explained why the boys didn't get out when they were supposed to. Dean had to save Sam, believing it was his job to protect Sam at the cost of his own life. And Sam wasn't about to let Dean just go to Hell for him after all. John knew he had driven home to Dean through the years that Sam was his responsibility, but the road had gone both ways. Sam looked up to his brother, admired him. Sam wasn't the type of person who would stand by and allow someone to die, especially if they were dying for his sake.

"After Dean went to Hell, Cas and the angels went to pull him out. I guess the angels wanted Dean to be a soldier for them." Mary said. John felt like his brain was short circuiting.

"Wait, so the demons wanted Sam to be their leader in a war and the angels wanted Dean to do the same?" he asked. Mary nodded. John winced. The first analogy that popped into his head was the civil war, of brother against brother. That was too much, too much for his boys.

"I don't really know what all happened, but what Sam said was that the angels and demons were tired of how the world was and God had disappeared so they decided to end it and start the apocalypse. Sam was supposed to fight on the demons side and Dean on the angels. I guess in order to start the apocalypse through they needed to free Lucifer first, and there was sixty six seals to his cage that needed to be broken. Lilith broke them all and Lucifer was freed but he needed a vessel. Sam said yes because they thought he could throw Lucifer in his cage using the Four Horseman's rings." Mary said. John blinked and shook his head.

"Wait, the four horsemen? Like Famine, Pestilence, War, and Death?" he asked. Mary nodded. John rubbed his face, trying to force his brain to process this.

"Dean said it worked in the end and Sam jumped into Lucifer's cage with Lucifer, Michael, and his vessel." she said. John nodded.

"And Dean?" he asked. John knew how Dean felt about Sam. Dean sold his soul for Sam after all, there was no way Dean was just going to stand by and let that happen. And if the angels had plans for Dean but he wasn't on the finale battleground that meant they had other goals for his boy.

"Dean told them to bite him when they told him their plans and refused to do what they wanted. He was there though, and after he had promised Sam he would quit hunting. Sam said he went and lived a quiet life with a woman and a little boy." Mary said. John frowned at that. He had wanted the boys out, but not like that. Sam was in Lucifer's cage? He was in the deepest corner of Hell with the devil himself! An Dean was probably so broken and afraid that he did what Sam and John's last wishes were, for Dean to have a home and a family and get out of hunting. However John knew there had to be more to this story, because they were together now. Sam didn't stay in the cage and Dean didn't get to retire.

"I'm not really sure about what happened because the boys glossed over it pretty well, but I guess almost immediately Sam was pulled out of the cage, but whatever pulled him out had left his soul behind. For a year Sam worked with a few other hunters until some monsters attacked Dean and they had to pull him back in. Then with Lucifer and Michael in the cage and the archangel Gabriel gone, the only archangel left to take over heaven was Raphael, but he wanted to stop the apocalypse. Cas and Sam were working to stop him when they pulled Dean back in." Mary said. John nodded, felling afraid of what this meant.

"So Sam had no soul?" he asked. Mary nodded.

"According to Sam, he was still him, but he wasn't. He had his mind, his memories, but he didn't have his soul, so he didn't have a conscious. When Dean found out about it he had made a deal with Death to get Sam's soul back. By that time Sam had been in Hell for almost eighteen months." Mary said. John suddenly couldn't breathe. Dean's forty years had to have been horrible, his own hundred and twenty years had been almost unbearable, but his youngest son tortured for almost two hundred years by Satan himself? He couldn't even begin to imagine what happened. "John?! John, are you alright?" Mary sounded worried and John realized he had hunched over in his desperate search for oxygen. He never wanted this. Never wanted his boys in a position where they felt they needed to sacrifice themselves for each other. Slowly he nodded, wanting to assure Mary he was still there.

"Yeah, so what happened?" he asked. Mary looked away for a moment.

"Sam told me that Cas was looking for Purgatory in order to take in the souls of the monsters there so he could defeat Raphael. He said it worked, but Cas took in the Leviathans as well and when he put the souls back, the Leviathans didn't leave. He said Cas died and the Leviathan's were set free. Somehow Cas was brought back and he worked with Sam and Dean to kill the Leviathan leader. They succeeded, but Dean and Cas were sent to Purgatory." Mary said. John felt his emotions swing in the other direction. A moment ago he was morning what happened to Sam, but now Dean? His boys were bound to kill him in his afterlife of worry. He briefly wondered how Mary could retell this so calmly, but he figured she had already dealt with it herself. Not only that but it's clear there was a lot the boys had left out, things the boys didn't want their mother to hear.

"How long?" John asked.

"A year. Sam had settled down, had a girlfriend and a dog, but he left them right before Dean came back. I don't think they knew what they were going to do next but they heard about a way to close the gates of Hell. Dean said Sam started doing the trials to close them, but when he realized Sam was going to die doing it he stopped him. At the same time an angel named Metatron who was the scribe of god was trying to close the gates of Heaven. He convinced Cas to help him but instead of closing the gates he expelled all the angels from Heaven." Mary said. John was about to comment when he recalled Ellen mentioned that happening. Why wasn't he even surprised anymore that in an universe reorganizing event, his boys were smack in the center of it? "Dean said that while that was going on they found the bunker for the Men of Letters." Mary said. John tilted his head to the side in thought.

"Why does that name sound familiar?" he asked.

"Because your father was part of it." she said. John gave her a startled look and Mary knew she had to do this carefully. Dean had told him about how much John hated Henry for leaving him and his mom. Yet for whatever reason the journal John had used had originally been meant for his dad.

"What?" John asked. Mary recalled how Dean told her the story. It was one of the few the boys had actually gone in detail about, like they wanted their mom and one day their dad to understand what kind of man Henry was.

"Dean said that they were in their hotel room trying to figure out what to do about the angels when your father Henry jumped out of the closet. From what they said he was part of the Men of Letters, who are like Hunters but more…connected I guess. They see hunters as beneath them, like they are more educated than Hunters and Hunters do their dirty work. The American Branch was wiped out when your father joined, a demon named Abaddon. He escaped the slaughter by going to the future. He was looking for you, but he ran into Sam and Dean." she said. John actually snorted.

"Really, time travel?" he asked. Mary shrugged.

"According to the boys, they've time traveled a few times." she said. John nodded, figuring that they wouldn't' lie about that. He was starting to think he might need to go find the alcohol again, maybe stop by the Roadhouse later for something stronger than a beer. "They said Abaddon followed him and entered their time. I guess she was upset with how Hell was being ran. After Sam killed Lilith, Lucifer took over Hell and after he was put back in the cage a demon named Crowley became the King of Hell. She wanted to take it over." Mary said. John frowned.

"Why does that name sound familiar?" he asked. He couldn't' think of where, but he knew he had heard it.

"Dean said it was mentioned in your journal, that you met a demon who worked for her once. She was one of the Knights of Hell. They were an organization of old and powerful demons, just below the Prince's of Hell. She was hunting down Henry for whatever he brought with him and took Sam hostage. Dean said that Henry was going to go back in time at first, to go back to you and raise you as a Man of Letters, hoping that the future wouldn't turn out like this, but instead he went with Dean. He died saving Sam and Dean from Abaddon." Mary said.

John knew Mary stopped talking to give him time to mull over what she just told him. His father, the man he thought abandoned him and left him and his mom without a care, had actually fled due to circumstances and found himself with his grandsons, John's sons! And when given a choice between going back to be with John or saving Sam and Dean, he chose Sam and Dean. John felt a wave of pride and gratefulness to his father. It was the choice John would have begged him to make had he known. He nodded to Mary, showing her it was alright to keep going. He wanted to hear the rest of this story.

"With a Knight of Hell and an angel trying to be god causing trouble, the boys were running out of options. Dean ended up taking on an ancient and powerful curse because it was the only way he could think of in order to defeat them. It was called the Mark of Cain. The boys didn't tell me much about it, but I do know it…it changed Dean." Mary said. John thought about that a moment. He had heard of that curse before, but he couldn't remember what it was. "Dean was able to use it to kill Abaddon, but he died in a fight with Metatron. The mark, it turned him into a demon." Mary said. Again John felt the air leave his lungs. It really wasn't fair. Not to Dean, not to Sam.

A moment later the implications of what Mary said had hit him. Dean had been turned into a demon! A monster, a creature that they hunt! Dean's soul had been twisted, torn, and shredded into something no one would ever recognize. What could have happened to his boy? How was that even possible? He was still there though, with Sam. How had he learned to live with being a demon? How did they keep the other hunters from coming after him? "Sam said he was a demon for six weeks, but Sam was able to cure him." Mary said. John looked up at her. He had never heard of the possibility of a demon being reverted back to a normal human! He never even considered it!

"How?" he asked, his voice cracking in fear and worry. Mary shook her head.

"Some ritual, I don't really know the details. But just curing Dean wasn't enough. He still had the mark. Dean got desperate. He went to Death, trying to find a way to die, to get rid of the Mark, but I guess getting rid of it would bring out the Darkness. Death was going to take Dean away, and Sam couldn't let that happen. Dean ended up killing Death and Sam was able to remove the mark from Dean." Mary said. John nodded. He understood now, or at least the basics. He had many more questions, but it was obvious Mary didn't have answers to them.

"So that's how the darkness was released. Then she fell for Dean and brought you back." John said, smirking. Mary nodded.

"When me and Dean went to the bunker that they were living in, we found out the British Men of Letters had kidnapped Sam. I guess they were looking to start a partnership with the American Hunters, but Sam wasn't being helpful so they tortured him. Dean found him first, but they kidnapped Dean too and tried to torture him to get Sam to talk. Cas and I were able to save them. After that I just…I don't know. I was so lost and confused John. The world, it's so different than what I knew." Mary said trailing off. John felt a cold feeling creep into them.

"You left them didn't you?" it was a question but he already knew the answer. John knew he couldn't blame Mary at all, not for that. He had lost track of the number of times he sent Dean away, of the number of times he just left Sam and Dean places with no warning. He lost track of the number of times Sam had just up and left him and Dean. Now that he thought about it John realized why Dean of all people couldn't let family go. In Deans' mind everyone was going to abandon him and leave him alone, and it was all their fault!

"I was scared, and I needed space. I started working with the British Men of Letters." Mary admitted. John froze at that. He felt a thread of anger go through him. The organization that she just said tortured Sam, hurt Dean, and she was working with them? "I'm not going to make excuses. The boys were hunting Lucifer at the time. They had freed him from the cage again to help take on Amara and now without God to keep him in check he ran wild causing problems. He possessed the President and created Jack. Sam and Dean saved the President, but they were put in an underground prison for it. We needed help, and the Brits were the only ones who could do it. John…they were gone for over two months. I didn't know what else to do, I was worried…" John felt the anger vanish. Of course she would do it out of desperation. He had no idea what he would have done in that situation, but he suspected it would be along those lines. "We found the boys, but they were there for two months and made a deal with a reaper in order to get out." Mary said. John nodded.

"Mary, I'm sure…I'm sure the boys understood." John said softly. After all that was one of the worst parts, that the boys actually did understand, and while Sam would have a few words to day about it, Dean had always accepted it.

"Dean and Sam were trying to track down Kelly and I was still working with the Brits. I uh…I was brainwashed John. I guess they just got tired of dealing with the stubborn American Hunters and decided to just start killing them all. I trapped Sam and Dean in the bunker, left them to die a slow death." Mary's voice was shaking. He knew that would forever be one of her greatest regrets, and he knew that from experience. If he closed his eyes and thought about it, he could still see himself, in his body seeing through his own eyes as Azazel tortured Dean, hearing Dean's screams and pleas and feeling like he couldn't escape.

"But you didn't kill them." John said, and while it wasn't very helpful, it was one of the things that kept him going. He didn't kill Dean, he stopped Azazel, and Dean of course forgave him as if it never happened. In a way though, that was worse.

"Dean found a way to get out, but he got seriously injured during it. I was ordered to kill a woman, Jody Mills. She's a friend of Sam and Dean's…looks after them like a mother would. She's good too, knocked me out and tied me up to hand me over to our boys. Dean was hurt so he stayed in the bunker with me and tried to reach me, but Sam led a group of hunters and drove the Brits out." Mary said. John felt a swell of pride. He could imagine how hard of a decision it would have been for Dean to stand by and watch as Sam and the others left for an assault that Dean couldn't watch Sam's back for, but he didn't take himself out of the fight either. He focused on Mary, on reaching her. And Sam, being a leader, it was an amazing image to John. He honestly hadn't really considered that before, seeing how every time he gave orders he saw Sam look to Dean first, as if asking Dean for his input. To hear he was striking out more on his own made John so proud. He could imagine it though, Sam standing in front of a group, showing them his wisdom and experience.

"Those are your boys." John said, grinning. He pulled Mary to his chest and kissed the top of her head. She couldn't let this haunt her.

"We caught up to Kelly who was hiding with Cas' help. Cas had decided that instead of killing the Nephilim we would protect him. The night Jack was born, he accidentally opened a portal to the other dimension. Lucifer came to get him, but we couldn't hand him over. The boys tricked Lucifer into going into the portal, Cas and Crowley were killed trying to keep him sealed in the portal but he tried to slip out. I…I took him back in and me and Lucifer were trapped in the other dimension." Mary said. John nodded. Had he been in that situation, he would have done the same thing, no questions asked.

"Cas died? Again?" John asked, wondering how he was brought back, again. Mary nodded.

"Sam said Dean took the loses hard. He took a shot at Jack when he was born." Mary said. John frowned, but he figured that wasn't too surprising. Most people had thought Sam was the emotional on and Dean had his emotions under control fairly well. John knew better. Both of his boys were extremely emotional, but in different ways. Sam could get attached to anything after a short period of time, but Dean only made a few major connections yet those ran deep. John had caught Dean more than once hiding somewhere, crying and clinging to old family photos. He never mentioned it to Dean, knowing his oldest didn't want him to know. Sam would talk about it, Dean would bottle it away. "I guess they found Jack and they decided it would be best to keep him with them. Sam and Dean started to raise him and Cas was brought back. Then Jack decided to try and get me. He and the boys had tried to come the Apocalypse world, but only Jack made it. Me and Jack started helping the survivors fight off the angels until Sam and Dean showed up with Lucifer and Gabriel. They managed to get us all back to our world, but Gabriel was killed and Sam made Lucifer stay behind. Lucifer and Michael managed to cross over anyway." Mary said. John tilted his head to the side.

"Wouldn't they fight than? Michael is the one who is supposed to defeat Lucifer." he said. Mary scowled.

"It turns out Michael was just as bad as Lucifer, if not worse. Michael came to the bunker and tried to kill Sam, Dean, and Cas but Jack came to save them. When he did Lucifer came with him. When it was clear Jack would side with Cas, Sam, and Dean; Lucifer took Jack's grace. He then took Jack and Sam and was going to kill him. Dean decided to let Michael possess him since his vessel was destroyed in order to kill Lucifer and save Sam and Jack. When Lucifer was dead though, Michael took Dean's body and disappeared." Mary said. John groaned as he hugged her tighter. "Dean said it was like he was being tortured, that for the three weeks that Michael had him it was like he was drowning in his own body. We went looking for him but when we found him Michael just…he just left." Mary said. John was confused.

"What do you mean he just left?" he asked. That didn't make any sense.

"He left Dean's body. He said it was because Dean kept fighting him. Sam had started to lead all the survivors during that time and John, you'll be so proud of him. Sam had become a real leader." Mary said. John felt like he was proud of both of his boys. "The boys tried to find out what Michael was doing. I guess he was building a monster army and was planning on destroying the world with it. And then Jack…without his grace his body just started to shut down. He died." Mary said. John frowned but nodded to show he was still listening. "Dean called me to tell me. Cas went to heaven and the boys found a way to bring him back. Then they got a lead on Michael and went to kill him. He took Dean's body over again without Dean's permission and Sam and Cas had to go inside Dean's mind to help him. Dean locked Michael in his own head." Mary said.

"Can he do that?" John asked in awe. He had never considered that before, locking away something in your own mind. The amount of willpower it took to fight back control from a demon was extraordinary, but to fight back against an archangel, let alone to lock it away in your own mind was something John couldn't even imagine.

"For some time he could. He tried to create a box though, a Malak box, to lock himself and Michael away for all eternity at the bottom of the ocean." Mary said. John looked down at her again. "He came to see me you know, when he was planning it. Built the box after he sent me to go get groceries. Guess he was doing some kind of farewell tour. Sam said it wasn't the first time he's done it. Sam was able to talk him out of it, to give them time." Mary said.

"Good." John said, the word out of his mouth before he could even consider it. Dean couldn't' just check out, not like that. Sam still needed him.

"They tried a few ways to get rid of Michael. One of them was a peril that was supposed to grant your hearts greatest desire." Mary said. John leaned back to get a good look at Mary's face, trying to see if she was being sarcastic.

"Oh?" he asked. She nodded. "Let me guess, some girl, maybe Daisy Duke or some other woman Dean was crushing after? Maybe a bacon cheeseburger?" John joked with a laugh. After all he knew how much Dean loved food. Mary shifted a little, making sure she could see his face.

"No, it was you." she said. John gave her a confused look.

"What?" he asked. Mary grinned.

"It was you. Dean's greatest heart's desire was having his whole family together, to have you, me, and Sam. Back when things were simple. Back before all the angels and demons, back when the most dangerous thing he had to worry about was a wayward wendigo." she said. John was stunned, yet he knew he shouldn't be. He knew how Dean was. "But if you stayed, it would have changed the whole future, so you decided to go back. Sam said you wouldn't remember what happened." she said. John had to admit she was right. He had no idea what she was talking about. However he found if he concentrated hard enough he could recall a faint dream, a dream of sitting at a dining room table having a family meal with his wife and grown sons.

"Bet that didn't go over well." he mused. Mary shook her head before leaning on his side, resting her head on his shoulder.

"A few weeks after that the boys got injured by a gorgon. It banged Dean's head around pretty good, and when Dean wasn't conscious anymore Michael escaped. He killed a lot of the hunters that were following Sam, and Jack…Jack using his soul as power to kill Michael and take his grace." Mary said. John felt sick. He couldn't even begin to imagine how all of them would have felt for something like that to happen. "When they brought Jack back they knew he needed magic to stay alive, so they used a magic that would use Jack's soul. Jack wasn't supposed to use it, just enough to stay alive, but he did in order to save the boys. And the results…well the results are this." she said. John nodded.

"Those boys. They've been through so much." John realized. He knew there was holes, many things that they didn't know about. He figured they'd find out about it eventually. Someone else would tell them or he would make Sam and Dean tell them when the boys one day actually die for good. For now he just wanted to hold Mary, to assure her this wasn't her fault. "It's all going to be alright." he heard himself whisper to her.


	5. Bobby Singer's confrentation

When John and Mary went into the Roadhouse, neither of them were expecting to see what they did. Bobby Singer sat at the bar, a strange man and woman with him. John smiled, glad to actually see his old friend before he realized what seeing Bobby there meant. Bobby Singer was dead! John shook his head, almost in disbelief. How the hell was Bobby dead when he just saw him attending Mary's wake on the telivsion? Was this related to that boy Jack?! Or did something else happen? John also recalled the last time they met. They had such a huge blow out that Bobby had grabbed a shot gun and threatened to shoot him, cocking the gun and everything. John had seen how terrified Dean had been at that moment, trying to put himself in the middle like he did with every one John fought with. John realized just how many bridges he had burned over the years in his desire for revenge. He looked over at Mary to see how pale she got. He realized she must be upset over her friend's passing as well.

Mary however was stunned. The moment she had seen bobby she had been excited, only to have the reality that she was looking at a stranger crash down over her. This wasn't her Bobby Singer. This wasn't the Bobby Singer she spent that time with in the other world. This wasn't the man who lost his wife and then his son to angels. This wasn't the man who led the last resistance of humans against Michael and his dictatorship. This wasn't the Bobby she had begun to fall for. This was John's Bobby. This was Sam and Dean's Bobby. This was the man who's only children were the two orphan boys he adopted. This was the man who helped raise her sons and continued to protect them after they were alone in the world. She realized how upset Sam and Dean must have felt meeting her Bobby. It was horrible, to see a person, to recognize them and know that they were a stranger. They didn't remember the experiences you had lived through with them, they didn't share those memories and they didn't live the life you were there for.

"John, Mary, why don't you pull up a seat!" Ellen called, turning around and seeing them. Bobby and his male companion didn't react but the woman turned to them. John took Mary's arm gently and moved toward them.

"About time you found yer way here idjit. Was wonderin' where ya been hiding out." Bobby said as they got close. The man finally turned to them. "This mus' be Mary." Bobby said looking at her. John frowned, thinking that didn't make any sense. Bobby made it sound like he'd been here before John had and that he never met Mary before. He looked at Mary and she seemed to realize what was confusing him.

"John, I never met your Bobby Singer. When I was in the other world, I met the survivors there. They were trying to stand up to the angels and me and Jack, we couldn't just leave them. The humans that were left were being led by the Bobby Singer of that world. When Sam, Dean, Gabriel, and Lucifer came to rescue me and Jack we brought all the survivors back with us." Mary explained. John felt a headache coming on. He needed a drink to fully wrap his mind around all these alternate universe's and multiple versions of the same people. As if reading his mind, Ellen placed two draft beers down in front of two empty seats. They were beside the strange woman next to Bobby, where the bar curled around to the side so they were all still close and not in a line. Mary sat next to the woman and John sat next to her, on the end.

"This is my wife Karen, and I don't believe you met Rufus Turner." Bobby said, introducing the two. John raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had no idea Bobby was married. Bobby kinda kept things close to the heart. He knew something had to get the man into hunting though.

"Nice to meet you." John said. Karen nodded.

"So your Sam and Dean's parents." she said. John was confused now. Did Bobby get married after he died? Also it was really odd to be called Sam and Dean's parents, since it was usually people knew him first. He figured it came of Sam and Dean saving the world. They were the important ones.

"You knew the boys?" Mary asked, also confused. She recalled how Sam mentioned Bobby's wife, how Bobby had killed her before he understood what the supernatural was after a demon possessed her and that was how he became a hunter. That would have been before Sam and Dean's time.

"I met Sam once, Dean twice. I was brought back by Death on Lucifer's orders for a few days after the Apocalypse was being set up. They wanted Bobby to stop helping the boys resist Lucifer and Michael's plans. Dean didn't trust me, and I thought that was sweet. He cared about Bobby so much that he risked his life to stay with him." Karen said. John thought for a moment before nodding. That sounded like Dean. Loyal to a fault.

"And you knew our boys too?" Mary asked Rufus. Rufus chuckled as he looked at his beer.

"Yeah, Dean showed up on my doorstep to ask about that bitch Bella. Dragged my ass out of retirement." Rufus said. To be honest, Rufus had actually liked Sam and Dean. Not to the extent of Bobby of course. He doubted anyone else in the world would, but he did like them. They were skilled hunters and pretty alright kids.

"And it got you dead." John said, sounding remorseful. Rufus laughed.

"I mean they were there but it was this one that got me dead. Him and that damn Khan Worm." Rufus said, gesturing the Bobby before picking up his beer and taking a drink of it. John and Mary glanced at each other, in confusion. They had a number of questions.

"What's a Khan Worm?" John asked. Bobby actually chuckled.

"Something Eve created. Dean named it." he said. John wanted to tell him that that description didn't really clear things up. "It was some weird worm that would take control of your body." Bobby elaborated after a drink.

"And Eve is…" Mary started.

"The mother bitch. Mother of all monsters." Rufus said. John and Mary frowned at that but then decided it was fine. After all, the boys have been dealing with Death, God, and God's sister. Why not add the mother of all monsters into the mix. John picked up his beer.

"So how did you die?" he asked before taking a drink.

"Dick." Bobby hissed. John choked on his beer, sending foam flying into his face. He quickly set the beer down, looking at Mary. She looked amused.

"Sorry?" he asked, waning Bobby to clarify. Bobby rolled his eyes at John, not amused by his stupid antics.

"Dick Roman, the leader of the Leviathan." he explained. John thought about that for a moment. That meant that Bobby was with the boys for that whole mess from his death to Dean going to Purgatory. Maybe he could fill in the blanks that the boys glossed over.

"So can you tell us what the boys left out?" Mary asked. Bobby raised an eyebrow. He had no idea what John and Mary knew, but he figured he could tell them what he did know. However he was fairly sure there was a lot the boys didn't want them to know about. Ruby, the demon blood, and Samuel came to mind as things the boys would probably never want their parents to learn about.

"Where do you want to start?" Bobby asked. He need to know what they knew before he could say anything.

"How about when I died in the hospital?" John suggested. Bobby thought for a moment and decided that was actually the perfect place to start. He had a few things he wanted to say to John about that after all. Bobby put his beer down and turned a furious look on John who recoiled a little in surprise.

"Sure John. Let's talk about that. What the hell were you thinking?" Bobby hissed. Mary looked at John, a little confused and John's face turned from surprise to defensive pretty quickly.

"You know what I was thinking Bobby. I couldn't let Dean die!" John hissed, getting angry. Bobby frowned. That wasn't what he was talking about, but you know what, since John did bring it up he could start there too!

"How stupid do you think that boy is John? Did you think he wouldn't figure it out? Your body wasn't even cold yet and Dean already had a pretty good idea what happened! You were gone, the Colt was gone…" he started.

"The Colt?" Mary asked.

"…and Dean was suddenly completely healed. He already figured out you gave the demon your soul to take to Hell and the colt for him. Do you have any idea what that did to him? He already thought he was living on stolen time!" Bobby just kept going, ignoring Mary's interruption entirely. Karen and Rufus both looked surprised and Rufus signaled to Ellen that they might need something stronger than beer. Ellen rolled her eyes but got a bottle of scotch and put it in front of Rufus.

"What do you mean stolen time?" Mary asked. No one had told her about this. She looked at Ellen, who shrugged to show she didn't understand either. Rufus shook his head in a gesture of saying not to ask him and Bobby and John were too busy staring at each other to answer.

Bobby suspected John knew more about the incident then the boys said he did. Bobby had been the very first person Sam had called when he learned Dean was going to die, after John of course. He had said he left a message on John's phone, then told Bobby he was calling other hunters too. After the incident Sam had called him to tell him exactly what happened and mentioned that John had never once called them back. Bobby knew John loved his boys more than his own life, despite having a pretty shitty way of showing it at times. He suspected John had gotten the message and began tearing up every lead he knew to try and find a way to save his oldest. However he couldn't call Sam and let him know he was looking. Dean had a strange reliance on John. The moment John would get involved in something Dean always believed it would work out perfectly. He couldn't give the boys that false hope without any good news. Yet that wasn't what Sam and Dean saw. What they saw was a father who was too busy with his revenge quest to answer the phone or check his messages. "Do you want to tell them?" Bobby asked. John looked at the counter and Bobby sighed.

"What?" Ellen asked, her voice turning hard. She knew whatever it was didn't kill Dean, after all he was alive to meet her later, but she didn't like what it implied. Bobby glared and took another sip of his beer.

"Sam and Dean were hunting a rawhead. They were able to kill it but there was an accident. Dean got electrocuted so bad that he had a heart attack and his heart was permanently damaged. Sam said he probably only had a few weeks before his heart would give out completely." he said. Rufus, Ellen, and Mary looked stunned.

"He get a pace maker?" Rufus asked. After all he had one after an accident that caused massive damage to his heart, and Dean looked relatively healthy when he met him. Bobby shook his head.

"That wasn't gonna help him. The doctors said there was nothing they could do. So Sam started making a bunch of phone calls. Someone told him about a faith healer in Nebraska and Sam took Dean up." Bobby said.

"That sounds shaddy." Rufus mused. Bobby rolled his eyes.

"Of course it was. The preachers wife had a reaper under her control. She would have the reaper heal people by killing others she saw as unclean or some crap." Bobby said. The group felt uneasy at that. "Dean figured it out when the reaper killed another man to heal his heart. He never got over it." Bobby said. John sighed.

"The boys freed the reaper and it killed the woman. Her husband never had any idea what she was doing. That girl Dean wanted to save…she died of a brain tumor not long after." John said, confirming Bobby's suspicions that he investigated the Faith Healer when he was looking for a way to save Dean. Bobby figured John knew how guilty Dean felt too, that he was alive while that woman was still dying and the man died in his place. That whole mess had been such a massive blow to Dean's self esteam and confidence, neither of which were ever that high to begin with. It made dealing with John's death even harder. Dean had to deal with losing her father and knowing his father died so he could live. All that was bad enough, but what Bobby was truly pissed about was even worse.

"Yeah, they did, but that isn't the end of it John, is it? I'm talking about what you told Dean before you died." Bobby hissed. John took a heavy sigh. Bobby didn't need to elaborate of that, he never forgot it. It his whole life, there was nothing he regreted more thanhe last words to Dean. However if he went back he'd do it all again. It needed to be done, but he wished it hadn't. He would never put a burden like that on his kids unless it was necessary.

"I had to Bobby!" he hissed, wanting his friend to understand. Bobby snorted in disbelief.

"What's going on? What did you tell Dean?" Ellen asked, feeling defensive. She cared about Sam and Dean a lot and didn't like the idea that John had put something on Dean that would make Bobby this upset. Mary was also giving him a hard look and Karen looked worried.

"I told Dean…I told him that he had to watch out for Sammy, that nothing else mattered and that he had to protect Sam." John said. Mary, Ellen, Karen, and Rufus were giving him confused looks. Despite the fact that none of them cared for the wording of that, how it made it sound like Sam was more important than Dean instead of the boys being worth the same, they couldn't see what was so wrong about it. "And I told him that he had to save Sam..and that if he couldn't…he would have to kill him." John said. He looked down and waited. For a moment nothing happened.

"WHAT?!" Ellen had spoken first, sounding outraged. John looked up. He could see Mary look Ellen was furious, Karen was upset, and Rufus looked floored. They had all known how close the boys were and the idea of telling one that he might have to kill the other was jarring.

"You don't understand." John hissed. He knew he had to explain the situation to them, something he had been hoping to avoid. "I knew that the demons had big plans for those kids. They were trying to turn them into killers to make the perfect leader. I knew they were planning to free Lucifer, but I had no idea that they were trying to free Lucifer. I had no idea the angels were trying to involve Dean though." John admitted. The looks he was getting were still angry.

"So you told Dean to kill his little brother?!" Ellen hissed. John hit the counter, needing them to listen.

"I couldn't let them turn Sam into a monster!" John yelled. They all gave him surprised looks. "I couldn't let Sam become a monster." he repeated, quitter this time. The hunters felt a small thread of understanding pass through them. It didn't happen too often, but there a number of hunters who had been turned into monsters and had family, people they trusted, kill them to prevent them from hurting others. They all knew Sam and Dean well enough. Either of them would want to be killed before they turned into something they couldn't recognize. Hell, they were all positive that after Sam and Dean found out about what was going on Sam probably asked Dean to kill him a few times. Dean would never be able to do that though. It would never come to that, because Dean would save Sam no matter what, or die trying. That didn't excuse it though.

"John…" Mary reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. There wasn't much she could say anyway. It wasn't like John had personally tried to kill the boys like she had. Brainwashed or not, it was all her that tried to bury the boys in the bunker. At least when John hurt Dean it was the demon inside his body and John stopped it from killing Dean.

"Yeah well, that messed up both yer boys quite a bit. Dean bottled that up for so long and when he finally told Sam…well how do you think Sam took it John? Knowing that his dad's last words were that he might have to die?" Bobby asked. John knew it wouldn't end well. Especially because the two of them were practically fighting in their last conversation. He couldn't even leave his boys in a positive way.

John didn't know where to go after that. None of them did. Ellen brought out more glasses and poured shots of the scotch for everyone. The entire bar took their shot except Karen. Bobby sighed, deciding there was no point in staying mad at John. "So what's this about another world?" Bobby asked, looping back around to Mary's discussion about another Bobby.

"You haven't been watching?" John asked, referring to the television. Rufus laughed.

"Hard to watch t.v. when your on the run from angels in Heaven, ain't that right Bobby? No see Bobby here has been hiding out in my Heaven for a while." Rufus said, grabbing the scotch bottle and drinking from it, ignoring the furious look Ellen sent him. Rufus figured most wouldn't understand his and Bobby's friendship. After all, Rufus and Bobby still were friends and still worked together despite Omaha, even though Rufus was never going to forgive Bobby for it. However now that they were dead, and he was reunited with the woman he lost in Omaha, it seemed pointless to hold that against Bobby. The same with holding his death against Bobby. It had been Eve's monster that killed him, not Bobby himself. That was why he had no problem with letting Bobby hide out in his personal Heaven with his lady.

"Why are you hiding from angels?" John asked, confused. That made no sense to him. Bobby snorted.

"Yeah well, apparently the punishment for freeing a prisoner of Heaven is death." Bobby said. John and Mary looked at each other, their minds working overtime to try and piece together what they were just told. A million questions flashed through John's mind, but he settled on the first one that he could form words for.

"Heaven has a prison?" he asked. Bobby and Rufus both laughed at that.

"Yeah, what do you think they did with angels that broke the rules?" Bobby asked. John had to admit he never actually thought about it. Hell, he wasn't sure angels had even existed until he arrived in Heaven.

"Why'd you break out a prisoner of Heaven?" Mary asked. Bobby finished his beer and Ellen took it to refill it.

"Sam and Cass asked." Bobby said. John and Mary both noticed the lack of Dean's name.

"Sam and the boys angel friend asked you to break out a prisoner of Heaven?" John asked, reiterating the information to ensure he heard right. Bobby sighed and Ellen placed the beer in front of him again.

"Yeah, Metatron." Bobby said. John felt like the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't place where. Mary looked furious.

"The scribe of God? The one who killed Dean?" she asked. John frowned at that as Bobby nodded. That made no sense to him! Why would Bobby free the angel that killed Dean and caused him to be turned into a demon if he recalled correctly? Hell, he would think Bobby would want that angel to rot under Heaven's prison for that. Sam too!

"Why the hell would they ask that? And what did Dean think?" John asked.

"Dean didn't know. They were doing it behind his back. They were hoping Metatron would tell them how the break the Mark of Cain from Dean. According to Cass Dean gave up so they were trying to do it alone." Bobby said. John felt sick. Mary had mentioned that the curse did something to Dean, that it turned him into a demon when he died. The curse unleashed the Darkness when it was removed. That kind of curse made Dean, his Dean, give up?! And of course Sam kept pushing. Sam must have really been backed into a corner if he went for Dean's own murderer to help them.

"So he helped them with the ritual?" John asked. Bobby frowned.

"Not really sure. It was after that I had to go on the run. The angels came to kill me but before they could Ash came crashing in my Heaven and dragged me out. Was hiding out in peoples Heaven's ever since. Since the previous leader Hannah died though and with the angels down to less than ten left they don't really have any time for one bad soul so it's safe for me to come out again." Bobby said. John nodded to show he understood.

'Well, I'll drink to that." he said. After all Dean was cured, Sam and Dean were alive, and they were together!

**Thank you all for the support. This chapter was a little harder to write because I didn't know what all Bobby should say for their first reunion. I guess he would want to get some of the bitterness out and avoid the topics he didn't want to tell the Winchester couple yet. I had to put Rufus in there because I adore the grumpy old hunter and honestly I see him and Bobby sitting in Heaven together drinking scotch and bickering like the grumpy old men they are. Next chapter I plan to bring in a few of my other personal favorites from the first few seasons, like a few specific psychics and an FBI agent.  
**


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